High density,high efficiency storage building for free flowing materials



1970 w. J. SACKETT, SR 3,490,615

HIGH DENSITY, HIGH EFFICIENCY STORAGE BUILDING FOR FREE FLOWING MATERIALS Filed June 28. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WALTER J. SAC/(E77; 5/?

BY W114, 1M

ATTORNEY Jan. 20, 1970 w. J. SACKETT. SR 3,490,615

HIGH DENSITY, HIGH EFFICIENCY STORAGE BUILDING FOR FREE FLOWING MATERIALS Filed June 28, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WALTER J SAG/(E77; SR.

ATTORNEY BY wm%m Jan. 20, 1970 w. J. SACKETT, SR

HIGH DENSITY, HIGH EFFICIENCY STORAGE BUILDING FOR FREE FLOWING MATERIALS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 28, 1967 V St INVENTOR R m m ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,490,615 HIGH DENSITY, HIGH EFFICIENCY STORAGE BUILDING FOR FREE FLOWING MATERIALS Walter J. Sackett, Sr., 3700 Echodale Ave., Baltimore, Md. 21206 Filed June 28, 1967, Ser. No. 649,572 Int. Cl. B65g 1/00 US. Cl. 21416 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE 'A bulk storage building for free flowing materials is described which has a high density, high volume efficiency. A plurality of adjacent rectangular bins each have a reentrant space saving doorway. This feature is accomplished by providing each bin with a short intermediate wall that supports a fixed sloping ceiling and forms an entryway. The ceiling preferably is at an angle corresponding to the angle of repose of the free flowing material being stored and terminates at an elevation suitable for passage thereunder of a payloader vehicles when the bin is nearly empty. This permits the formation of a talus of material extending into the entryway when the bin is charged.

An improved distributing conveyer of endless type is arranged for linear reciprocal movement over the bins and includes a transverse leaky slot means which assures a uniform coverage and complete filling of the bin in charging process including the formation of the talus under the entryway ceiling and the utilization of the space thereover.

This inevention relates generally to materials storage buildings, and more particularly it pertains to a high density, high efliciency storage building utilizing a power driven distributing type conveyor system.

The filling of bins with free flowing material in the past has generally been a manually supervised procedure requiring the positioning of chutes, ducting, and spouts and a periodic relocation of same to prevent a large buildup or mound which would choke discharge exits and oxerflow bins which were perhaps only partially filled.

Because free flowing material, such as feed and fertilizer forms an angle-of-repose mound, it is not possible to completely fill rectangular bins from a chute without considerable manual labor.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a high density, high efliciency storage building and system for handling and storing the same or a plurality of different materials of a free flowing nature, such as granular, which is rapid in operation and efficient to operate, and one wherein the stored material can be easily removed by a payloader or similar equipment.

Another object of this invention is to provide a high density, high efiiciency storage building having a power driven distributing type conveyor system which automatically tops the filling of rectangular shaped bins.

Another object of this invention is to provide a high density, high eificiency storage building having a unique design of storage binswhere free flowing material such I as fertilizer, feed, and the like can be uniformly and rapidly stored, and which can be easily removed without any major use of equipment or contamination of the stored material.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a system of conveyors which can be run continuously and which is automatically operated so at all times a level condition obtains for the free flowing material in each storage bin.

To provide a semi-automatic storage plant having a plurality of bins and a transversing conveyor adapted to selectively fill the same in a uniform manner without the aid of movable chutes and the like, is another object of this invention.

And another object of this invention is to provide a distributing conveyor system which is adjustably leaky.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a bin filling arrangement which prevents self-segregation of the material by size.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will become more'readily apparent and understood from the following detailed specification and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bulk materials processing plant and a high density, high efficiency storage building incorporating the features of this invention with parts broken away to show interior details;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the storage building but viewed from the wall opposite the wall nearest the viewer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section through the storage building taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of one end of a storage bin and a portion of a distributing conveyor.

Referring now to the details of the drawings as shown in the FIGS. 1 through 3, reference numeral 10 designates, generally, a high density, high efficiency storage building lying adjacent to a processing or manufacturing plant 12.

The high density, high efficiency storage building 10 is one that permits a doubling of storage of free flowing material per square foot of height, that is, if this same building were to be used with only ashuttle belt (such as shuttle belt 40 later to be described), there would be a single peak pile with long slopes on each side, whereas the teachings of the present high efliciency sotrage building 10 accomplish a complete filling of the empty pyramids of space, which account for a doubling of storage per unit area.

The building 10 is built on a flat foundation 14 directly on the ground so as to easily support heavy loads directly thereagainst.

The building 10 further comprises inner and outer longitudinal Walls 16 and 18, respectively; with the wall 18 comprising one side of a sheltered aisleway 17.

Transverse walls 22 divide the area defined by walls 16 and 18 into a lurality of rectangular open-top storage bins 21. The bins 21 and access aisleway 17 are sheltered under a roof 28. The aisleway 17 allows access to the storage bins 21 through the doorways 23 provided in wall 18 as best seen in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each doorway 23 is located immediately adjacent one of its bin defining walls 22. The side of the doorway farthest from wall 22 is arranged with a short wall 24 which cooper-ates with the Wall 22 to support a sloping ceiling 26 over the doorway. The lower edge of ceiling 26 is of suflicient height from the floor of foundation 14 so as to allow free passage of a payloader P with its bucket in an elevated position. The angle of each ceiling 26 is such so as to give an angle of repose of approximately 31 to 33, so that any materials M deposited on the ceiling 26 will slide from the ceiling 26 as the material M is withdrawn.

A catwalk 20 extends along the full length of sidewalls 16 and 18, on their inner sides, at a distance from roof 28 sufficient to provide ample walking clearance. Similar catwalks are provided on the endmost walls thereby allowing an operator to observe loading of the bins 21 from either side and to provide access to a pair of conveyors 34 and 38 which operate above the bins 21.

The conveyor 34 brings free flowing material for'stor- 42 which ride centrally located longitudinal rails 32 carried by beams 30 spanning and supported by the bin walls 22. The traveling conveyor system 38 and the conveyor 40 are reversible and can be positioned by a truck motor 44 to discharge from one end or the other into any bin '21.

The reversible belt of the conveyor 40 is arranged to feed incoming free flowing materials M into either one of a pair of end located hoppers 48 which, in turn, feed, through short chutes 49, a pair of oppositely extending transverse conveyors 46 as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The outer ends of these four transverse conveyors 46 with their associated drive units 50 depend from end carriages 54 which run on roof supported rails 52 so that the entire H-shaped structure of the traveling system 38 can move as a whole to be positioned as desired above the bins 21.

The conveyors 46, which are constrained against misalignment by X-bracing 56, each extend horizontally for approximately one half bin length and consist of a gen erally rectangular cross section housing in which is mounted a motor driven endless chain equipped with spaced paddles. The paddles travel in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 3 to move free flowing material along the conveyor bottom which is arranged with a lengthwise slot whose width is adjustable so as to leak material uniformly for the length of the' conveyor. A fully detailed disclosure of the conveyors may be had from an examination of my co-pending US. patent application, Ser. No. 515,124, now Patent No. 3,406,847 filed Dec. 20, 1965, entitled Automatic Bin Leveling System.

While a bin 21 is being filled, the truck motor 44 is caused to move the entire H-shaped conveyor system 38 vin a limited oscillatory degree defined by the width of any bin, This is accomplished automatically through the agency of a reversing switch, or switches, 58 mounted on the end of conveyor 46 and connected with motor 44. An actuator 60 of the switches 58 extends so as to be contacted by a retractable trigger pin 64 of a stop 62.

By locating the stops 62 atop the bin dividing walls 22 and locally or remotely actuating them in desired pairs to extend their trigger pins 64, the to-and-fro movement for the conveyor system 38 can be continued automatically until the bin 21 is brim full. With the trigger pins 64 retracted, the distributing conveyor can pass therebeyond and relocate to serve another bin 21, in the previously described manner.

As can be easily seen in FIG. 2, the free flowing material M is readily accessible for withdrawal from a full or even partially empty bin because of the materials natural angle of repose of approximately 31 to 33 which causes it to gravitate toward the doorway 23 without, however, any tendency to flow into the aisles where it would be subject to contamination by the material from the adjacent bins.

As can be seen in the endmost left hand bin of FIG. 2, a payloader P can be driven into-a nearly depleted bin to allow easy removal of all remaining material thereby eliminating the possibility of contamination of subsequent bin loads should the new materials differ from those previously stored.

A storage buildingof the type which has been described is easily expanded merely by the erection of additional bins 21 at the ends and by lengthening the conveyor tracks.

What is claimed is:-

1'. In a high' density, high-efiiciency storage building system'for handling of free flowing materials, comprising, a base, shelteringstructure positioned on said base and including outer si de and end'w-allsf and roof means positioned over said outer sidejan d end 'walls, inner walls,

, positioned on said base and. arranged transversely to said outer side walls and parallel to, said outer end walls to define together with i said outer side and end walls a plurality of rectangular shaped storage'bins for storing said free flowing materials in the interior of said sheltering structure and conveyor means positioned above said plurality of storage bins for distributing said free flowing material thereinto, the improvement comprising: each .said storage bin having a doorway immediately adjacent one of its bins defining inner .walls, with the side of each said doorways farthest from its respective bin-defining inner wall having a' shortwall parallel to its respective bin defining inner wall, a sloping ceiling. over each doorway supported atan angle of repose of said free flowing materials being stored by its respective bindefining inner wall and short-wall over its -respective doorway and terminating short of said base to form an openinginto its respective bin for entrance through said doorway,

- 2. The highdensity, 'high-efiiciency storage building system of claim 1,'wherein said base means extends beyond the interior of said outer side wall so as to form a sheltered aisle therealong, and said bin sloping ceiling extends into said bin a distance adapted to contain said free flowing material, at said angle of repose in said doorway short of said aisle.

3. In a high density, high-efliciency storage building system for handling'of free flowing materials, comprising, a base, sheltering structurepositioned on said base and including outer side and end walls, inner walls positioned on said base and arranged transversely ,to said outer side walls and parallel to said outer end walls to define together with said outer side and end walls a plurality of rectangular shaped storage bins for storing said free flowing materials in the interior of said sheltering structure and conveyor means positioned above said plurality of storage bins for discharge thereinto, the improvement comprising each said storagebin having a doorway immediately adjacent one of its bins defining walls, a sloping ceiling over each doorway supported at an angle of repose of said free flowing materials being stored and terminating short of said base to form an opening into its respective bin for entrance through said doorway, said sloping ceiling projecting into said bin a distance adapted to contain free flowing material at said angle of repose under said sloping ceiling within said doorway.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT G. SHERlDAN,'Primary Examiner 

